§ Mr. Sproatasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the number of official journeys civil servants of his Department made in each quarter of 1976 and the first three quarters of 1977, by each quarter, between the United Kingdom and other parts of the EEC, on matters consequent on the United Kingdom's membership of the EEC; and what has been the total cost of all these journeys in 1976 and in 1977 so far, respectively.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonIt would not be possible without disproportionate expenditure of time and resources to identify those journeys made to EEC member countries specifically on EEC business. The following therefore relates to all visits by Treasury officials to EEC member countries:
Quarter ending Number March 1976 85 June 1976 88 September 1976 53 December 1976 82 March 1977 91 June 1977 95 September 1977 31 The total cost of these visits in 1976 was approximately £37,000, and in 1977 to the end of September approximately £27,000. However, official visitors to the EEC are entitled to claim certain expenses from the EEC institutions and these are paid to the Department. Reimbursements to the Treasury from the EEC for such expenses amounted to £19,327 in 1976 and £16,232 to September 1977.